The Cartographers’ Guild is a forum created by and for map makers and aficionados, a place where every aspect of cartography can be admired, examined, learned, and discussed. Our membership consists of professional designers and artists, hobbyists, and amateurs—all are welcome to join and participate in the quest for cartographic skill and knowledge.

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First Map :)

Okay well I just downloaded Gimp and started trying to get used to my tablet and thought this little land mass would be a good way to start. No where near completion just yet but thought I would go ahead and put it out to see if anyone can give me some tips along the way.

Not going for color effects just yet trying to keep it simple, just plain black and white for now. So any advice or tips at this point would be great.

Okay well I just downloaded Gimp and started trying to get used to my tablet and thought this little land mass would be a good way to start. No where near completion just yet but thought I would go ahead and put it out to see if anyone can give me some tips along the way.

Not going for color effects just yet trying to keep it simple, just plain black and white for now. So any advice or tips at this point would be great.

Nice start.. I like the shape of the hills... but the mountains are to pointy(you could leave a few of them pointy... but most should probably be closer to around an 80 degree or so angle.

If you plan to do B/W, I would suggest some more visual distinction on your water areas... I would not tell without your description. Some things you might try would be some simple waves or perhaps a woodcut effect on the parts tht should be water... The outline of the shore is kind of cool though.

One tip as you learn GIMP..... learn to use layers, lots of layers and learn to use layer masks on layers as you need them. I hope to post up a tutorial on layer masks tomorrow night so good time to pick up GIMP. Oh, and the tablet is a good buy. It will help you tons and if you are ever without it... you will be crying if trying to make a map.... Just ask Del... I thought we would have pitch in and send him some tissues while he was waiting on his new tablet to come in.

Thanks for the feedback. Yea Del told me about some of his tutorials I've got one of em downloaded but still haven't really gone through it a whole lot yet. Probably will though before I go any further on my map. I'll keep it updated as I go. And thanks again really appreciate the input.